Buckle



Patented May 2, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUCKLE corporation of Ohio Application January 17, 1938, Serial No. 185,355

1 Claim.

This invention relates to surgical instruments and in more particular to a buckle for attaching the arm band of a sphygmomanometer to the arm of a patient.

An object of this invention is to provide a buckle for the arm band of a sphygmomanometer, facilitating the rapid and easy attachment of the arm band to the arm and the quick removal from the arm,

Another object of this invention is to provide a buckle for the arm band of a sphygmomanometer that is cheap, efficient, durable and dependable.

Other objects and advantages reside in the constructionof parts, the combination thereof and the mode of operation, as will become more apparent from the following description.

In the drawing, 1

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the buckle showing a portion of the arm band with the remainder thereof broken away.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is another cross sectional view showing the buckle oriented through ninety degrees to a position for releasing the arm band.

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, with the arm band removed.

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional View taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the transverse retaining member.

In the past, for the most part, it has been common practice to measure the blood pressure by applying pressure upon an artery by the use of an inflation bladder mounted in a comparatively long arm band that is wrapped around the arm. This requires a careful positioning of the arm band In addition thereto, it is a slow, tedious task, Furthermore, the results may be quite inaccurate.

Attempts have been made to use buckles; but either these are hard to tighten or loosen, or they will slip when taking the measurements.

In the embodiment disclosed herein the buckle includes a base member provided with a rectangular opening spanned by a transversely disposed retaining member mounted within a bight of the arm band, cooperating with a side of the base portion to hold the arm band in position. The base portion merges into a handle portion extending in a direction substantially normal to the base portion, which facilitates the handling of the buckle. The arm band may bereleased by rotating or orienting the buckle through an angle of ninety degrees, or thereabouts, at which time the transversely disposed retaining member slips away from the side of the opening in the base member, releasing the arm band.

Referring to the drawing, the base portion 10 is provided with a rectangular opening [2. The material originally across the rectangular opening I2 is severed along the center and bent in opposite directions forming beads 14, one on each side of the rectangular opening l2. Each bead I4 is provided with an arcuate portion IS. The ends of the base portion ID, as may best be seen by referring to Fig. 4, individually merge into an upright flange l8 terminating in a reentrant flange 20, the flanges l8 and 2B cooperating with the ends of the base portion Ii! to form channels 22.

A transversely disposed retaining member 24, preferably having the ends 26 bent at right angles to its length, extends across or spans the opening I2 and is seated in the channels 22, the channels 22 cooperating to hold the retaining member 24 in position. One end of the channel 22 is closed by a lip 30 diagonally disposed and integral with the reentrant flange 20. The lip 30 is preferably soldered or welded to the base portion In and the upright flange portion 18.

The rear of the base portion In merges into a flange 32 extending in a direction substantially normal to the plane of the base portion Ill and terminating in a handle 34. The handle 34 is slightly arcuate, as may best be seen by referring to Figs. 2 and 3. In order to provide suitable finger grips the sides of the handle 34 are provided with ears 36, facilitating the handling of the buckle. The flange 32 closes the channels to the rear of the buckle.

The band 40 has one end 4011 permanently secured in position, as by sewing, to one side of the base portion Ill. The other end of the band 40?) is removably inserted around the retaining member 24 which engages the bight 40c. By exerting a pull upon the end 401) the band 40 may be tightened about the patients arm until it is sufliciently tight. As the end 4012 is tightened, the retaining member 24 tends to move towards the right, as viewed in Figure 2, the retaining rod 24 cooperating with the side of the base portion In to grip the free end of the arm band to hold it in position. In actual tests it has been found that this structure will not yield or give when a pressure of more than three hundred pounds is applied to the arm band.

After the blood pressure has been measured, it

is merely necessary to rotate the buckle in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, through an angle of ninety degrees, or substantially so, from a position as disclosed in Fig. 2 to that disclosed in Fig, 3, to cause member 24 to drop in the channels 22, thereby completely releasing the end 40b of the arm band, so as to permit the removal thereof without any binding ac tion.

The base portion In and the parts integral therewith, may be made or formed from .032 stainless steel. The retaining rod may be made from rod, as the case may be. Instead of using stainless steel or instead of using the dimensions set forth above, any other suitable material and any other suitable weights of materials may be used.

Although the preferred modification of the device has been described, it will be understood that within the purview of this invention various changes may be made in the form, details, proportion and arrangement of parts which generally stated consist in a device capable of carrying out the objects set forth, in the novel parts, combination of parts and mode of operation, as disclosed and defined in the appended claim.

high carbon steel rod or stainless steel Having thus described our invention, we claim:

In a sphygmomanometer having an arm band for supporting the inflation bladder, a buckle for holding the arm band on the arm, said buckle including a sheet metal base portion having a substantially rectangular opening, one end of the arm band being fixedly attached to one side of the base portion, the opposite sides of the base portion merging into a handle extending normal to the plane of the base, said handle including a hand grip portion, the ends or" the base portion extending upwardly and inwardly to form a pair of parallel channels and a transversely disposed slidably mounted rod extending over the opening in the base portion, the ends of said rod being seated in said channels, the free end of the arm band extending through the opening over the rod down through the opening when in position for use on the arm, the arm band being releasable by gripping the handle and rotating the buckle, permitting the rod to shift relative to the base portion to cause the free end of the arm band to be released.

ARTHUR E. RINEER. HENRY G. DYBVIG. 

